


Honey, I'm Good

by ObscureReference



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alcohol, Other, Rated T for underage drinking, Underage Drinking, can be read as pre-romance or platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-24 06:02:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4908109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObscureReference/pseuds/ObscureReference
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Should we be letting him do that?" Dex asked, eyeing Chowder warily as he tangled himself even further in to his own bed sheets. Only his left foot and a few tufts of dark hair poked out of the knot of  blankets Chowder had twisted himself in to. He did not look unlike a burrito.</p><p>"Chill, Dex," Nursey said, pulling a bottled water out of the mini-fridge in Chowder's room. "He's not going to suffocate in there."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Honey, I'm Good

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this when I was trying to write more of the third part of the TFW series and got distracted by Until Dawn stuff instead. Whoops.

It was the worst kept Haus secret that Chowder was a sloppy drunk. It was so poorly kept that it wasn't even a secret. It just _was._

Chowder was a sloppy drunk.

Nursey doesn't mean he's sloppy as in slurred speech and spilling alcohol over himself, though Chowder does plenty of that. Mostly, he means that Chowder spills _himself_ everywhere. 

Chowder was a lightweight. He was easy. With one Natty Light Chowder already had a mad flush that reached well past his shoulders. Nursey would know. He's seen it. Three or four more and hell, Chowder's already gone. Much farther gone than any reasonable person should be after a few beers.

Then Chowder became a sloppy drunk.

He's just _everywhere,_ somehow, when it happens, leaning in to Nursey's side in one second and then squeezing himself under Nursey's arm the next because "Why is the north so _coooold_ , Nursey? Cali's so _warm_." He'd spread himself over the couch if Nursey would let him, regardless if there are people already laying on it or not. Nursey put a stop to that after the first few times.

Bitty sometimes made jokes about "Nursey Patrol" and yeah, okay, maybe he's not the best decision maker when drunk. It's cool. He'll admit it. But when _Chowder_ gets drunk, like really, truly, honest to goodness, is-this-guy-for-real drunk, Nursey puts a stopper on his own alcohol intake and focuses on curbing Chowder's as well. He usually doesn't put up a fight.

Chowder was not a bad drunk. He didn't constantly try to shed his clothes like Shitty did, though to be fair Shitty did that when he was sober too. Chowder only got slightly more giggly than usual and the red flush to his face was both cute and unnoticeable in most lighting. He's not, Nursey would repeat, a bad drunk. He was just very affectionate. Which was better than a lot of alternatives.

"Should we be letting him do that?" Dex asked, eyeing Chowder warily as he tangled himself even further in to his own bed sheets. Only his left foot and a few tufts of dark hair poked out of the knot of  blankets Chowder had twisted himself in to. He did not look unlike a burrito.

"Chill, Dex," Nursey said, pulling a bottled water out of the mini-fridge in Chowder's room. "He's not going to suffocate in there."

Chowder was much too big to properly strangle himself in the blankets, unlike kittens or other baby animals, which were sometimes prone to do so by accident. Though he did remind Nursey a little of a baby animal when he was drunk. Also a little when he was sober too. Maybe a puppy. Nursey could practically see Chowder's tail wagging whenever he and Dex made a comment to each other that wasn't outright hostile on either of their parts. A puppy would be a good fit. Nursey liked dogs.

It was more than a little possible Nursey was a little drunk as well.

Dex didn't look too hot himself, but he only stumbled a little when he stood up from his chair in the corner of the room. He had collapsed there after helping drag Chowder back to his dorm, not that Nursey had needed the help. He regained his balance fairly quickly upon standing, however, and though Nursey knew he wasn't, Dex almost sounded sober when he spoke.

"Chowder," Dex said. "Come out from there. You need to drink some water."

The lump of blankets shifted a little, but Chowder did not come out. There was a muffled noise Nursey couldn't recognize.

"What?" Dex asked.

Much faster than a regular drunk person could manage, Chowder poked his head out of the burrito blanket fort.

"I _said_ ," Chowder repeated, eyes wide and mouth shining, " _You_ should come down here instead."

"What? _No._ " Dex fumbled with his words and Nursey was willing to be kind and chalk it up to the booze rather than something else, merely shaking the water bottle in his direction rather than chirp him for his blunder. "You have to get out of bed. Or at least sit up. You'll spill it all over yourself if you drink lying down."

Chowder giggled a little, then hiccupped. Nursey smiled to himself. Chowder was prone to flights of fancy as a drunk, but he was also pretty weak-willed. He was already sitting up in bed by the time Nursey approached him with the bottle, though it obviously took him a lot of effort and he kept the blankets wrapped tightly around his shoulders as he did so. Dex hung back, warily observing.

"Nursey! Nursey, hey!" Chowder said. He blinked a few times rapidly. "When did you get here?"

"I helped walk you back," Nursey said. "You should drink this water bottle while I watch you."

"Why?"

"So you don't get dehydrated."

"Oh." Chowder paused. "Why do you have to watch?"

"To make sure you drink it all."

Once, Nursey had done given Chowder the water bottle and left to grab some medecine from the bathroom. When he had come back, Chowder had fallen asleep at the kitchen table and left the open bottle lying next to him, its contents drained to form a wide puddle on the floor. Nobody ever said Nursey didn't learn from his mistakes.  

It was possible, Nursey thought, that he may have needed some water as well. Chowder's eyes looked exceptionally big in the light. Everything had a bit of a shine, really. He'd drink his own bottle soon. After Chowder finished his.

He was suddenly aware of how Chowder squirmed under the blankets, keeping his arms tucked close under the sheets. Even Chowder's bare leg retreated under the safety of the covers.

"But if I take my arms out, I'll get cold," Chowder said and this was a concept Nursey was very familiar with battling with. Chowder, who loved warmth above all else, especially loved it when drunk. Or, that is to say, he hated even the slightest of chills, even in his air-conditioned dorm room. They might have been the same thing. "You should hold it for me."

Dex stumbled with the start of a sentence behind him, probably a protest on how, drunk or not, Chowder could drink his own water, but Nursey just shrugged. He unscrewed the cap and cupped Chowder's cheek with one hand, making sure Chowder's back was braced against the wall before placing the bottle rim to his lips. Nursey tilted it slowly, making sure not to overwhelm Chowder at first and spill the whole bottle over his face just because he was unprepared. A few drops spilled out anyway, sliding down the corner of Chowder's mouth where his lips met in a thin stream. Nursey wiped it away with his free thumb. Despite his drunkenness, Chowder didn't shy away from chugging as much water as he could in one sitting. Maybe he had finally realized how thirsty he was.

It was very, very quiet in the room aside from Chowder's swallowing and Nursey had forgotten there was anyone else was there until Dex's soft, "What the hell?" startled him in to pulling the bottle back. Chowder hiccupped. Nursey twisted, catching Dex's wide-eyed look and gestured to the half-empty bottle.

"Do you want him to drink it or not?" Nursey said. He cleared his throat, trying to dislodge the something that had caught itself in there. He kept eye contact with Dex but also made sure Chowder was still propped up against the wall, blankets or no. It wouldn't do for him to fall asleep just yet. "You don't have to be here, you know."

The tips of Dex's ears brightened and Nursey wasn't feeling very generous anymore. Dex shifted his weight.

"Whatever," he said, looking away. "Just. Keep going."

Chowder had sunken farther in to the blankets while Nursey had had his back turned and he almost felt bad about gently shaking Chowder's shoulder to prompt him to sit upright.

"Come on, C. You should finish the rest of this before you pass out."

Chowder hummed in to the fabric. "Will you lay down with me if I do?"

"Sure," Nursey agreed easily. Chowder would pass out before then. If not, who cared? "But water first."

Chowder shifted a bit more upright, though not as much as Nursey would have liked. His eyes fell on something over Nursey's shoulder.

"Dex too?" He asked. His voice was a bit heavier than before. Nursey had no doubt he would be out like a light soon enough.

Somewhere behind him, Dex made a noise.

"I. Uh. I don't..."

Even when nearly unconscious, Chowder's sad face was like a blow to the gut for anyone with a heart. Nursey moved so he was directly in Chowder's line of sight and tried to drown out Dex's unsure stutters.

"Him too," Nursey said. He held the water up. "But first, drink."

Chowder obliged. It went down just as easily as the first time and Nursey marveled their luck as Chowder didn't sputter or choke on the constant stream of water even once, unlike most others probably would have in his situation. Soon enough the bottle was empty. As Nursey placed the empty container on the desk next to the bed, a full bottle was placed next to it. Nursey looked up.

"For the morning," Dex explained gruffly, not looking at either of them. He cleared his throat. "When he's hungover."

Nursey nodded approvingly. He looked back at Chowder and pushed some of the stray hair out of Chowder's eyes before facing Dex.

"Let's go before—

A hand loosely encircled Nursey's wrist.

"Nur _seeeey_ ," Chowder moaned, sinking further back in to the mattress and trying to drag Nursey with him. "Don't _goooo_."

"You and I should be sleeping, dude," Nursey said. Gently. He didn't pry his arm out of Chowder's grasp though it would have been easy to do so. Dex watched. "You're gonna regret staying up so late in the morning."

"No," Chowder whined, not letting go of his wrist. "You and Dex _promised._ "

Nursey looked at the clock. It was very late. Chowder did not let go of his wrist. Nursey did not look at Dex.

"You're right," he said. "We sure did." And then, after a moment. "But you better share those blankets too."

Nursey stepped out of his shoes and climbed over Chowder to the side of the bed nearest the wall, though it was a tight fit. His pants and shirt stayed on. He had no doubt Chowder would just steal the blanket back sometime during the night, so he needed all the warmth he could get. Chowder squealed with delight, though with not nearly as much energy as his more sober or more awake self would have. He tucked himself in to Nursey's chest and spared just enough blanket to cover Nursey's side. The underside was already warm from Chowder's body heat.

"Warm," Chowder muttered in to the crook of Nursey's neck. This was the part where he spilled himself all over anyone who allowed it, namely Nursey. "You're warm."

Nursey looked at Dex, who seemed frozen in the middle of the room, from above the curve of Chowder's shoulder.

"If you're going to leave," he said while Chowder was distracted with sucking as much warmth as was possible from Nursey's body. "Now would be a good time."

"It's." Dex said. "I just."

Nursey raised an eyebrow. He was sure the whole situation was very gay to suspected-but-unconfirmed Republican William Poindexter. Maybe it _was_ a little gay. Nursey shrugged to himself. He was drunk, Chowder was certainly drunk and they were both tired. There was no law saying two dude friends couldn't sleep in the same bed together. If Dex wanted to have some crisis about it, that was his own problem. He half expected Dex to say, "No homo" and then sprint out of the room like he could outrun whatever gay thoughts he was obviously having.

Nursey was tired. He was not in a magnanimous mood.

Dex didn't say that, however. He didn't say anything at all. To Nursey's great surprise, he seemed to take a moment to steel himself before actually slipping out of his own shoes and in to the bed beside Chowder. Chowder shuffled over obligingly, practically on top of Nursey, though plenty of him spilled over on to Dex's side as well. It was a tight squeeze.

There he went, Nursey thought, watching Chowder throw the other side of the blanket over Dex's chest without looking. Dex turned his back to the two of them, probably so he didn't have to think about what he was doing too much and also because it looked like Dex would fall of the bed if he laid on his back. Nursey felt more than saw Chowder stretch one of his legs back and rest it on top of Dex's. Dex's shoulders stiffened at the touch, but he also didn't leave. It was something.

Chowder muttered something in to Nursey's chest. He was already too far gone for coherency. There he went, Nursey thought again. Chowder was always spilling himself over everyone. He was a very sloppy drunk.

But Nursey didn't mind so much. He suspected Dex didn't either, if sharing a bed was any indication.

Three hockey players sharing a XL twin bed meant for one college student did not make for a very comfortable sleeping arrangement, especially not with how Chowder hogged the covers and a lot of the space. On the bright side, three bodies gave off enough heat that it fought off the Samwell winter chill that seemed to seep in to every building on campus, no matter how insulated they were. It was enough that Nursey felt strangely comfortable, despite the less than desirable space arrangements. The heat was very relaxing.

Damn, Nursey thought as he drifted off. He had forgotten to drink his own water before bed. He was going to have the worst hangover in the morning.

Oh well. It wasn't a big deal. He'd remember next time.

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is http://someobscurereference.tumblr.com/


End file.
